From The Host…

Dear VDP Reader, We are pleased to invite you to this week’s Virtual Dinner Party. We are serving up 14 reviews and 4 comments to share with you for the week ending Thursday, October 6, 2016. THEATER Battlefield Apple and Gabriel …Read More

It’s the last day of September, and the Virtual Dinner Party is back. We missed you over the summer, and hope you missed us. The Dinner’s wonderful Sous-chef of the past year, Shannon Thomas, has moved on to the next …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, With this posting of 14 new reviews, the 2015-16 season of the Virtual Dinner Party comes to an end. Summer arrives in eight days, and our annual ideas festival, KentPresents, will consume us for the …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, May 16, we posted 13 new reviews on the VDP: THEATER A Doll’s House (2 reviews) The Father Fully Committed Indecent (2 reviews) VISUAL ARTS Harry Bertoia’s Atmosphere for Enjoyment …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, May 19, we posted 11 new reviews on the VDP: TELEVISION Eurovision 2016 Foyle’s War Night Manager THEATER The Father Incognito Toast RESTAURANTS German Gymnasium Park Chinois BOOKS Sex with …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Members, We’ve noticed a phenomenon in recent years at (real) dinner parties. The once-frequent question of “What movie have you seen recently” is being displaced by “What TV series are you bingeing on?” What amazes us …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, April 28, we posted 10 new reviews on the VDP: MOVIES A Hologram for the King PAPA: Hemingway in Cuba Viva BOOKS The Industries of the Future My Struggle, Book …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, April 21, we posted 11 new reviews on the VDP: MOVIES Born to be Blue The Jungle Book Miles Ahead THEATER American Psycho Ironbound BOOKS Eligible My Name is Lucy …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, April 14, we posted 14 new reviews on the VDP: THEATER The Effect Head of Passes The Gabriels Iolanthe Shuffle Along MUSIC Emerson String Quartet New Jersey Symphony Regina Carter …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, March 31, we posted 16 new reviews on the VDP: THEATER A Celebration of Harold Pinter The Crucible Sense and Sensibility She Loves Me (2 reviews) RESTAURANTS Four Seasons Racines …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, March 17, we posted 14 new reviews on the VDP: BOOKS The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built The Musical Brain This Old Man: All …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, March 10, five new reviews were posted on theVDP.com: MOVIES Hail, Caesar! London Has Fallen RESTAURANTS Jams Restaurant Rotisserie Georgette BOOKS Innocents and Others Please note that the VDP website …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, March 3, fifteen new reviews were posted on theVDP.com: BOOKS The Devil’s Chessboard Germany: Memories of a Nation Originals Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind West of Eden THEATRE Blackbird Nice …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, February 25, sixteen new reviews were posted on theVDP.com: BOOKS Better Living Through Criticism The Island at the Center of the World A Question of Honor The Sphinx THEATER Battlefield …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending Thursday, February 18, nine new reviews were posted on theVDP.com: THEATER Blackbird Hangmen Les Liaisons Dangereuses MOVIES Hail Caesar! Lady in the Van BOOKS In Other Words MUSIC Chinese New …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending February 11, eleven new reviews were posted: MOVIES The Finest Hours Hail, Caesar! The Lady in the Van BOOKS Destiny and Power Ordinary Light OPERA Manon Lescaut Une Éducation Manquée MUSIC …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, For the week ending January 28, eight new reviews were posted: BOOKS A Manual for Cleaning Women The Story of My Teeth RESTAURANTS Fishtag Chef’s Club by “Food & Wine” MOVIES White God MUSIC …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Member, Every Friday from today through March 11, the VDP will post five new videos from our ideas festival, KentPresents 2015. The range of topics is wide – visual and performing arts, global affairs and national …Read More

Dear VDP Member, In the week ending Thursday, January 7th, the 13 new reviews below were posted to the Virtual Dinner Party website, theVDP.com. BOOKS All the Light We Do Not See Democracy in America The Etymologicon The Nightingale MOVIES …Read More

Dear VDP Member, Happy New Year! In the week ending Thursday, December 31, ten new reviews below were posted to this website. BOOKS Islam and the Future of Tolerance Kissinger: The Idealist, 1923-1968 Nicole Charbonnet’s Best of 2015 The Tuner …Read More

Dear VDP Member, Happy Holidays! In the week ending Thursday, December 24, eleven new reviews below were posted to this website. We hope you enjoy the relaunch of the VDP and continue to send us your reviews throughout the holiday season. …Read More

The VDP Lives! Welcome back, all of you. We missed you, and we hope you missed us. Enjoy reading the following 27 submissions that have been received this week. Because some of them include multiple events, the total number of …Read More

Dear Virtual Dinner Party Guests, In November 2012, the Virtual Dinner Party came to life. Over the years, as you attended shows and movies and operas and concerts and museums, as you read books and as you ate at restaurants, …Read More

One of the great benefits of attending real dinner parties with friends, beyond the food and drink and camaraderie, is the opportunity to share your likes and dislikes on the cultural scene — the movies you’ve seen, the plays, the …Read More

From now on, as I receive your reviews for sharing on the Virtual Dinner Party website, I’ll post them as soon as I receive them, subject to my schedule constraints. This way, your opinions will be available for all VDPers …Read More

Dear Attendees of the Virtual Dinner Party, Remember the days when professional reviewers were both acid-tongued and great practitioners of the language? Recently Steve Paget reminded me of some of the wonderfully acidulous — and terse — reviews from the …Read More